Penn State men’s lacrosse No. 1 in every major poll for first time in history

For the first time in program history, the Penn State men’s lacrosse team is No. 1 — across every major poll.

The Nittany Lions received 24 of 34 first-place votes in the Inside Lacross poll and, in the USILA Coaches poll, they received 14 of 16 such votes. In the Nike/USL poll, Penn State also remained No. 1.

The rankings were released Monday. The Nittany Lions were previously No. 2 in the first two polls.

Penn State (10-0) has already made history with its perfect start. Before this season, its best-ever beginning came in 1992 when it started 7-0.

In a lot of ways, this dream season has shocked many in the lacrosse world.

The Nittany Lions were 20-22 over the last three seasons and missed the NCAA tournament each time. Now, they’ve already cranked out wins against No. 6 Army, No. 9 Ohio State, No. 18 Villanova — and two other teams, Navy and Penn, receiving votes in the polls.

One of the key reasons for the turnaround has been Penn State’s underclassmen. Freshman Mac O’Keefe is second nationally in scoring (3.5 goals per game), while sophomore Grant Ament — who’s second on the team in scoring — is 15th nationally in shot percentage. He’s finding the back of the net on 46.8 percent of his attempts.

The Nittany Lions have just four games left in the regular season. Their next test, against No. 8 Maryland, will take place on the road at 1 p.m. Saturday.

This story was originally published April 3, 2017 at 7:24 PM with the headline "Penn State men’s lacrosse No. 1 in every major poll for first time in history."